Super Z's - 350 hour review

I just finished up a few last cleanup mows for the season - long, warm and wet fall here - 350 or so hours on both of my Super Z's. Excellent machines! They have served our company well and really cut down on mowing time for the year. I have had very few problems - the ones I have are more Kawasaki related than Hustler related.

One mower has a leaky o-ring behind the oil filter adapter where it mates to the block - dealer has tried to replace once, but it just leaks worse. The same mower has a loose feel with some slop in the hydro's as compared to my other Super Z with the same amount of hours - the other machine has a "tight" feel to the hydro's with no slop - any way to "tighten" the loose mower up?

The other mower has a clutch that does not want to engage after the machine has been cutting for a while. I have to rev the throttle up to get the clutch to engage and sometimes even that does not work. Is this common? This same mower had the little selenoid on the carbeurator that keeps gas from entering the bowl at shut down went out and I took the "needle" out of it in order to keep mowing - seems to run fine, but want to replace it.

Great machines - sure wish the deck was centered under the frame though. I have even contemplated rewelding the deck mounts this winter - will this void my warranty?

With my super z (25hp Kawi, 60" deck) we've had limited problems. The machine is approaching the 300 hour mark, and as you originally stated most of my problems have been related to the Kawi engine moreso than the hustler power unit itself. The 25hp Kawi will not hold an rpm adjustment to save it's life. I've adjusted it myself numerous times, had it back at the dealer numerous times, etc, and it still won't go more than a couple days without dropping down into the 3200 rpm range, which makes for quite lousy performance from the machine. When the rpm's are where they should be, the machine is excellent.

The only problem I am having with the machine itself is a lot of side to side play in the deck. The arm that attaches from back of the machine to the back of the deck has been bent somewhere along the way, and even after repairing it, there is a lot of play in the deck from side to side that I can't seem to get fixed...nor can the dealer. They are however about to get it back for another attempt at fixing it, and to take another shot at getting it to hold it's rpms. I'm guessing that with the machine being less than 1 year old they will be able to work something out with me on getting the arm on the back of the deck replaced.

Again, the machine is awesome when everything on it is "right", however these two "problems" with the machine have, and still do, cost me a lot of time at much less than peak efficiency. That being especially apparent during leaf cleanups, as with the vac system on the mower and the excessively low rpms, the machine can barely pull itself up a hill. Meaning that pretty much everyday I have to readjust the machine to use it for a day, putting up with it becoming weaker, and weaker throughout the day. It gets quite frustrating.

Anyhow, I'd buy another one probably...but you can bet it'd be an EFI machine where I wouldn't have the same rpm loss, day after day.

My Clutch does the same thing. .
Can someone tell me exactly how to adjust the air gap. My mower is out of warranty and my dealer sucks, so I would rather do it myself. I just need instructions.

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Depends on your clutch, some are adjustable, some are not.
Check the bottom of your clutch, if it says Warner, then it is not adjustable.
If it says Ogura, or if it looks to be triangular in shape, the it is adjustable.
The Ogura clutches have 3 adjusting points to them.
E-mail me and I can forward you some info on how to adjust it.

I've got 440 hours on my 2003 Hustler Z. The 2004 has about 300. Both are 60". Yet to have the first problem with these machines. I do think that a spindle is starting to make some noise. The Honda motors have been solid performers and good on fuel. The Humboldt bagging system works very well and really shreds the leaves up. The bags, once full are extremely heavy to lift off and dump. Especially when leaves are damp. I also stop and push them down at least once before dumping. As good as the Honda motors are, you can't have too much power. I would probably go with a larger motor next time.